Saved
by Storm that Twists in Spiral
Summary: Honeyfern's final moments: what she was really thinking as she saved Briarkit from the snake and everything afterwards.


**Elsi: Hey. Writing this made me kind of sad. And I'm listening to Deathbed by Reliant K. So, I'm sad. **

**Trek: Elsi doesn't own Warriors. But she owns Cloverkit, Sunkit, and Shinekit. **

**Elsi: So, enjoy the story of Honeyfern's death.**

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Saved

The warm sun makes those rocks great for sharing tongues. It's too bad that, after what happened, the Clan had to stop using them. But, it was for the best, because I was the only one to be taken by the danger. In a way, I saved them.

I was sharing tongues with Berrynose after training with Foxpaw and Icepaw. It was a beautiful day, and ThunderClan was making the best of it. Millie's kits were playing outside, tussling and chasing each other. I slipped back to the time when Poppyfrost, Cinderheart, and I would play with Molekit like that. Until he got sick, we used to have the best of times. We used to play Rescue Mission: Cinderheart would pretend to be Blackstar and steal Poppyfrost and Molekit, and I would have to rescue them. "You saved me!" Molekit would say. But I couldn't save him from the sickness.

"We'll have kits like that one day," Berrynose murmured, and I looked up at him in surprise. My heart sped up. Did he mean it? After all this time, did he share how my feelings of affection?

"I'd like that," I said, gazing into his truth-filled eyes. Vaguely, I remembered that Lionblaze was nearby. Was he hearing our conversation? A pang of guilt ran through me. I used to be fonder of him than I was of Berrynose. How did he take it when I moved on?

The feeling of Berrynose licking my shoulder brought me back to life.

"You'll make a wonderful mother," he told me, his voice more gentle than it had ever been. I purred deeply, happy for the first time since Ashfur died. The both of us looked back at the kits, watching them play. Now, they were having a jumping contest. And suddenly, I saw them not as the kits of Millie and Graystripe, but of Honeyfern and Berrynose.

"Watch me! Watch me!" It wasn't Blossomkit – it was Cloverkit, a cream and grey she-cat. "I can leap higher than any of you!" I smiled at the sight of my daughter.

"No you can't, I can!" argued Sunkit, my golden-brown son. Cloverkit and Sunkit were joined by their sister, Shinekit, a beautiful cream she-cat that looked just like Berrynose. They came closer to us, and my fantasy overwhelmed me. Shinekit toppled over suddenly, skidding to a stop near a crack in the wall. I craned my neck to watch her as she jumped back up and balanced on her hind paws.

"I bet you can't do this!" she boasted. Just then, I could see a dark shadow shifting behind her. I sat up, wondering what could be behind my kit. Arching behind Shinekit, it prepared to strike. _Snake!_

Gasping, I bounded down from the rock and shoved my kit out of the way. But then, she wasn't Shinekit anymore, she was Briarkit. And I realized that my fantasy had been just that – a fantasy.

And suddenly, a shooting pain raced through my body as two hooked fangs dug deep into my shoulder. The shoulder Berrynose had licked me on. I jumped backwards, screeching in pain. My legs shook with agony, and I collapsed onto the ground, breathing hard. I trembled, as pure terror coursed through me. Was I going to die?

I could scent Berrynose by my side. More than anything, I wanted to speak to him, to tell him that I loved him more than anything in the world. I wanted to tell him that I had always watched him and seen him as the great warrior that he is. But before I could, I could hear my mother by my side, screeching in terror.

"Stand back and give me some room." Leafpool! Relief stifled my pain for a brief second as the medicine cat crouched beside me.

"I'm not leaving," snarled Berrynose. Oh, Berrynose. How I love you. Leafpool's paw touched my injured shoulder, and I flung my eyes open as the pain spread through me, powerful as a hundred warriors' claws digging from the inside out, trying to burst out. I writhed in my agony.

"Help!" I screeched, gasping for breath as fire surged through my veins. "My blood is on fire! Help me, please! It hurts so much!" If Leafpool was doing anything at all, I couldn't feel it.

"Do something!" begged Berrynose. I managed to catch a glimpse of his terrified face as he pleaded for my safety. "One of you, do something!" That confirmed my worst fears. Leafpool wasn't helping me. I continued to twitch as the flames of pain rushed through me, and my vision started to fade.

"Why aren't you doing anything?" cried Sorreltail from nearby, but even her voice seemed to fade.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Leafpool, and I almost couldn't hear it. My breath was barely coming. It hurt so much! I thrashed furiously on the ground, desperately trying to get it out. "There's nothing I can do. The poison has taken hold of her." I heard the yowl of despair from my mother and nearly echoed it. But I couldn't. A spasm pushed through my body, and I could feel my back arching without my permission. My legs folded under my body, as agony pushed my bones to breaking point. Then, I couldn't move.

_Honeyfern…_ I could just barely hear the voice. Molekit? My vision continued to cloud over, and I could swear I could see my brother…my dead brother.

As if in another world, I could feel Berrynose's paw stroking my fur.

"We would have had wonderful kits together," he murmured, "Just as strong and beautiful as you." And through my agony, I could see them: my beautiful Shinekit, my strong Sunkit, and my gentle Cloverkit. But like the world around me, they started to fade. "And one day I'll see you in StarClan."

I wanted to call to him, and I would have given anything to go on living with him and see our kits grow up to be fine warriors. I tried to tell him, but all that came out of my pain-stricken jaws was a quiet rasping.

"You saved Briarkit's life," Berrynose continued, and I could feel the tender lick on my head that was his final one. "Every cat in StarClan will honor you." And then it struck me: I had saved her. I had saved Briarkit.

_No…_I thought as the final pain left me and Molekit's image grew brighter. _I saved Shinekit. My kit._ I thought of Berrynose. _Our kit. _

Though I couldn't see the real world, nor hear anyone there, the image of Molekit grew stronger still. But my three precious kits were fading, and my heart ached to know that I would never know them. But beyond Molekit came two more kits, who's image grew stronger and stronger. A ginger she-cat with Poppyfrost's amber eyes. Was I seeing my sister's kits on my journey to StarClan? Beside her was a tom, and my blood turned to ice. Because the tom was beautiful, with luscious brown and cream fur and…and Berrynose's eyes.

"No," I whispered. I hadn't just lost my kits...I had lost Berrynose. But then, I was in StarClan.

Molekit stood before me, and the two kits were gone. The pain that had rushed through me was gone.

"I'm losing Berrynose," I whispered. Molekit shook his head, staring up at me with the bright green eyes I loved.

"No," he meowed quietly. "You're saving Berrynose. You're saving Poppyfrost. And you're saving their kits." The anger and grief in my heart made way to joy as I realized that he was right.

Because I saved them.


End file.
